What is Justice?
by SupaSayajin
Summary: His battle against Gilgamesh has gone wrong in the worst way possible: he can't tell if he won or lost, he can't find Rin and Saber, and he doesn't even know where the Root he is! Shirou Emiya is officially lost. And now he has to try to find a way back to his home and staying true to his convictions while trying to keep a man with a bat fetish from sending him to prison.
1. 1st Sword: A Battle Gone Awry

**A/N: Yo, first time writer here so please excuse the amateur writing. I am only a casual fan of DC so I won't be able to dive deep into the lore of the Justice League. Practically all my knowledge comes from the shows, animated films, video games, and the popular comics such as Tower of Babel, Injustice: Gods Among Us, The Killing Joke, and The Dark Knight Returns.**

**Despite my confidence that you, the reader, most likely know the format I'll be writing in, I kinda need to do this:**

Speaking/Yelling- "Holy shit, this writing..."/"DAMN IT!"

Thinking- '_Well, I'll be damned_.'

Techniques/Spells/Other forms of chanting- **[****AVADA KEDAVRA]**

Telepathy/Deities speaking and similar- **"Vengeance shall be served."**

**With that said, let's kick off this story! ****Hopefully, you won't get on my ass for not copying the each and every detail of the final battle between Shirou and Gilgamesh in the Ultimate Blade Works **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fate/Stay Night or the Justice League. All that stuff belongs to their respective owners.**

* * *

"GAAHH!"

"WHAT'S WRONG FAKER? HAD ENOUGH?"

In the distance, a man with bright golden hair raises his arm in conjunction with the appearance of a multitude of bright yellow ripples in the air from which weapons from unknown legends and myths slowly exited. The man smirked before suddenly bringing his arm down as if to signal an invisible army to attack.

Suddenly, a hail of golden lights erupts from the aforementioned ripples to descend upon a barren wasteland littered with swords, spears, and other forms of weaponry. Among these is a small figure dashing from place to place to avoid getting hit by the incomprehensible number of golden lights. Should any of the lights get too close, the figure would cut them down using the weapons that were stabbed into the ground.

Narrowly escaping being skewered by these golden lights, the figure leaps out of a massive cloud of dust that was caused by the collision of the golden lights with the ground. If one was to be able to keep track of the figure despite its considerable speed they would have seen a young man with bright red hair, his face stuck in a determined scowl even though blood drenched his blue and white jersey. The young man's name is Shirou Emiya and his opponent was none other than the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.

As he free-falls through the air, Gilgamesh directs his attacks towards his younger opponent in full confidence that the disgusting faker would meet his end. However, Shirou was determined to see this battle end in his victory.

Before the young man, a shroud of pink energy appeared. A remnant of an ability his future counterpart used in battle against Lancer. Despite never actually seeing the ability used, the resonance that was caused by his interactions with the Counter Guardian allowed him to use a bastardized version of this spectacular technique.

**[RHO AIAS]**

The barrage of weaponry sent by Gilgamesh was effectively stopped by the impressive defense as Shirou traced his one of his signature dual weapons, a white blade by the name of Kanshou. After the defense had been depleted, Shirou twisted and turned in the air to dodge the continued stream of weapons as he drew ever closer to Gilgamesh. Upon recognizing the impeding danger, Gilgamesh quickly grabbed hold of one of his weapons and attempted to retaliate. And it was at that moment that everything went wrong.

Within the infinite possibilities of the multiverse, almost all of them involved Shirou going for the arm before finishing the fight... Unfortunately in this timeline, he went for the head. A sadly ironic case as there was another hero in a different universe who made a different decision when it came to destroying the bane of his existence. But that is neither here nor there.

Gilgamesh may not have been a master at any form of weaponry but he had a reaction speed worthy of being called the King of Heroes which allowed him to immediately recognize the clearly fatal attack and jump back while he stabbed at Shirou with his sword. The two opponents simultaneously struck each other; Shirou was impaled right through his stomach whereas Gilgamesh was nearly bisected from his left shoulder down to his navel. Succumbing to their injuries, both fighters fell to their knees and attempted to get back up.

The Faker and the King glared at each other with hatred and determination, neither willing to stay down for a second longer. Within Shirou, Avalon was hard at work in an attempt to heal the wound dealt to him. However, Gilgamesh was able to rise first due to his enhanced constitution as a Servant.

"Filthy mongrel," He snarled. "Victory is yours but that will not save your life... Faker."

Readying one final attack, Gilgamesh was not willing to even let Shirou rise to his feet. But the Grail had other plans.

A dark violet sphere of malevolent energy formed within the gouged out wound in Gilgamesh's chest and it rapidly began to expand. The suddenness of its interruption caused both parties to pause in shock as it began to eagerly attempt to adsorb the mighty Servant.

His eyes wide in surprise, Shirou couldn't help but blurt out. "The hole of the Grail!"

"HOW DARE YOU DRAG ME INTO THIS!" Gilgamesh yelled. "WAIT, I MUST FINIS-"

The King of Heroes wasn't even able to finish his enraged protest before the dark hole completely engulfed him. As he witnessed what he thought would be the end, Shirou prepared to end the Reality Marble they had fought in, only to have a chain that had been shot out from dark hole during his lapse of attention wrap around his arm. At the other end of the chain he could see Gilgamesh slowly but surely pull himself out of the hole of the Grail.

"THAT SICK ABOMINATION!" Gilgamesh shouted incredulously. "DOESN'T IT REALIZE THAT A FELLOW SERVANT CAN'T BE MADE ITS CORE?!"

"Crap, you're trying to pull me in with you!" Shirou exclaimed.

"YOU FOOL! I REFUSE TO DIE THIS WAY! STAY WHERE YOU ARE WHILE I PULL MYSELF TO YOU!"

Due to his injuries, Shirou was unable to find the necessary strength to stay in place which led to him stumbling towards the hole.

'Dammit, if this keeps up I'll be dragged in!' Shirou thought panicked. 'I have to cut off my arm.'

"GO TO HELL! IT ENDS NOW, EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY ARM!"

Seeing the determined look on Shirou's face, Gilgamesh attempted to distract him from doing so.

"WITH WHAT?! YOU HAVE NO PRANA LEFT!"

That claim was true, Shirou had completely depleted his prana reserves but the Unlimited Blade Works was the embodiment of all the swords Shirou traced, he just had to grab hold of one.

Hurriedly searching the area around him, Shirou caught sight of the closest sword to him and couldn't help but feel despair due to the fact that the sword was nowhere close enough to reach. Which left only one option- sacrifice himself to prevent Gilgamesh from escaping.

Steeling himself, Shirou could only think one thing.

'I'm sorry Rin. Saber. Sakura. This is goodbye.'

Gilgamesh wasn't oblivious to the mentality of the third rate magus and made his thoughts known.

"YOU BASTARD! DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT THE GRAIL WILL TWIST AND CORRUPT YOU?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS FOR A SPECIES THAT WOULD BETRAY YOU?!"

"Because... A HERO OF JUSTICE WOULD DO JUST THAT!"

Closing his eyes and drawing a deep breath, Shirou let himself be pulled into the hole of the Grail.

* * *

This was certainly not the first time a person had been sacrificed to the Grail. However, this was the first time that a magus and a Servant were both sacrificed at the same time. And within a Reality Marble at that. Thus it could be said that the world in which the sacrifice took place never existed in the first place seeing that it was an artificial world imposed upon reality by the creator, which in turn cuts off the Reality Marble from the regular reality.

So what does that entail for the Grail and its occupants?

That they were no longer part of any regular realities. That they would either continue to drift in the void between realities or, if they were lucky, they could be forcibly pushed into one of the infinite realities.

And that's just what was happening outside of the Grail. The events occurring within the Grail were even more complicated.

See the only reason why the Grail interrupted the battle was in order to gain a new core. A singularity to anchor itself to that was completely separate from Angra Mainyu, the Avenger, the Corrupter, the one known as"All the World's Evil." Gilgamesh had already been exposed to the pollution of the Grail during the Fourth Holy Great War, making him a suitable target.

But now there are two possibilities. Shirou Emiya has also been exposed to the aftermath of the Fourth Holy Grail War. He had already thrown his memories, emotions, dreams, and identity in his struggle to survive the Great Fuyuki Fire. His all encompassing desire to become a hero of justice could be a catalyst to either mitigate the corruption of the Grail or further enhance it.

Hell, why not pick both. As an entity that encompassed the entirety of the Nasuverse, the Grail had collected enough information from all possible versions of the two subjects and would be able to cherry pick the best qualities before combining them into one core. With the strong constitution that comes with the Servant and the mental fortitude of the third rate magus, the Grail would be able to make a core just as strong if not stronger than Angra Mainyu. One that would possibly be able to avoid degeneration during the creation process.

However it was only an extension of the Greater Grail. Access to the required energy and resources must first be established.

There was no time to lose. The process will most likely be a lengthy one.

* * *

The pain hasn't stopped rising yet. It was as if reality was twisting, ripping, and stitching him together at the same time. Hell, he couldn't believe it was possible that even being stabbed in the chest a hundred times by Gáe Bolg would be preferable to this.

He could feel his mind breaking and mending, breaking and mending, breaking and mending, mending and breaking, breakmending, **breame- **

**DAMN GRAIL! WHY WON'T IT STOP!**

It was all because of that fucking mongrel! If he had just stayed put I wouldn't b-

Wait, why would he think that?! He had to save humanit-

HUMANITY DOESN'T DESERVE SAVING! NONE OF THEM MATTER!

What?! No, he would never entertain such a thought. The old man must be rolling in his grave.

'_My arm! It's gone!'_

Wait, that never happened. His arm is perfectly fine.

_'Saber, I love you.'_

That never happened either. He never confessed to Saber.

_'Sakura! NOOOOO!'_

**THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE, SAKURA NEVER DIED!**

Right?

But they felt so real.

No, these can't be his memories.

But why is he in all of them?!

As he floated in the deep abyss of the Grail, Shirou couldn't help but scream in pain and disbelief as memories that were and yet not his continued to assault his mind. He knew that Illya was killed by Gilgamesh, it happened right in front of him, and yet he had memories of Illya sacrificing herself to the Greater Grail to save him. And on top of that he had memories of Illya surviving the war and going on to live a full life!

How could his memories be so contradictory?! Especially since he barely even knew Illya!

But he did. She was his adoptive older sister.

Then why did he have memories where he never learned she was related to him?!

After the seemingly never ending barrage of random memories that he couldn't recall, the void that surrounded him bled away until he was standing in a torch-lit room. The architecture was something one would expect to see in the ruins of a once great empire. The Mesopotamian Empire to be exact.

"Enkidu, why are you crying?"

This wasn't his memory but he knew whose it was.

Gilgamesh.

He was dressed in bright golden armor with red clothes hanging from his waist, he was the embodiment of power and authority. But his face was scrunched in grief as he stared at a figure that laid on the bed in front of him, his blood red eyes seemed to have spread the color to encompass the entirety of his eyes as he attempted to avoid breaking down into tears.

Now that Shirou had a proper look at the room, it was clearly designed as a sort of sick bay and on the sick bed lay a man who was laid low by some sort of divine curse. He wasn't able to understand how he knew that. It was as if his Structural Grasp had ascended to heights unimaginable. From how powerful the curse on the sickly man was to how many molecules were in the block of wood that served as Gilgamesh's seat, the structure of everything in the room was effortlessly analysed.

It was a frightening development. What could have possibly changed him to such an extent?

"Who would understand you after I die?" Enkidu rasped. "When I think that you will live on all alone, I can't help but shed tears..."

As the man lay dying, Shirou could see the despair and grief rapidly push Gilgamesh into a frenzied state of madness.

'I will not die.' Gilgamesh thought. 'I will see to it that I never have to die.'

Suddenly rising to his feet, Gilgamesh began to curse every god and goddess he knew as Enkidu passed away. Upon the completion of Enkidu's passing, all Gilgamesh could do was begin to laugh in such a way that Shirou felt repulsed just hearing it.

"Foolish faker, this wasn't meant for your eyes."

Caught off guard, Shirou swiftly turns to look behind him and was shocked to see what he saw. Gilgamesh as he knew him. Dressed in his signature black sweater and white undershirt. However, the usual animosity and arrogance seemed to have been sucked out of him. If Shirou thought it was possible, he would have risked guessing that Gilgamesh looked defeated.

"So why are we not dead yet?"

"The Grail is probably taking its time." Gilgamesh huffed as he plopped down on the floor. "At least the fucking pain stopped."

Without missing a beat, Shirou marched out of the room. Passing through the torch-lit hallways of the building and attempting to find some inkling of an exit, Shirou ended up returning to the sick bay.

"Are you surprised third rate? I have already tried the same long before you arrived here," Gilgamesh scoffed. "The Grail has been quite busy making us its core."

"And you expect me to just accept that?! There has to be some way out, otherwise we wouldn't be conscious."

"Of course you haven't noticed. This is the end, this is just a representation of the dying embers of both of our souls."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Gilgamesh simply raised his head and started laughing. As he did so, Shirou could see the hopelessness and anguish that plagued the King of Heroes.

And it pissed him off.

"Oh shut up!" Gilgamesh suddenly snaps. "You should have known this would have been a part of your wonderful sacrifice."

"WELL, IF YOU HADN'T BEEN SUCH A BASTARD THEN WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS!"

"FUCK YOU FAKER!"

Words couldn't describe the rage Shirou felt towards Gilgamesh at that moment. If it wasn't for him, Shirou would have been at home with Rin, Saber, and the others. He would have had the chance to prove Archer wrong and show the world that his ideals were worth fighting for. He could have gone on to make a world where no one had to cry anymore.

.

.

.

**NO.**

He will not accept this as his fate! He must keep going! Keep fighting! DIG DEEP! **THERE HAS TO BE A WAY OUT! **The Grail is not indestructible, there has to be a vulnerable spot. Once he finds it, he will hit it hard and fast.

"You still persist?! The process is already complete, there is nothing left!"

Shirou turned to look at Gilgamesh and, sure enough, the Servant looked as transparent as polished glass... In fact, the King of Heroes was far more transparent than he was.

"No, there is one thing left."

Diving deep into his mindscape, among all the random memories that were forced in to his head one stood out. One where he was also trapped within a laughably small portion of the Grail. The context of the event was lost to him but he was sure that there was one thing that aided his escape.

Avalon. The Ultimate Defense and the Sheath of Excalibur.

When Merlin presented the sheath to King Arthur, he implored the king to keep it at his side at all times in order to never fall. With the Grail literally threatening his existence, the defense would surely come in handy.

**[Trace On]**

Blue circuit lines snaked across his skin as he called upon the entirety of his Od reserves but he was shocked by how much he actually had.

The Grail had used Gilgamesh's body and the knowledge it had already accumulated to increase the power output of it core, causing Shirou's reserves to grow and multiply by the hundreds. It essentially gave him the tools to destroy it.

In the end, there was no need to find a weak spot. After all, does a nuke need any accuracy?

**[Avalon!]**

A flash of bright holy light spread from the projected scabbard across the void between realms in a furious attempt to protect its wielder from the Holy Grail.

Never before had there been such an event.

* * *

**Gotham City; ****The Batcave**

**November 21, 1:23 am EDT**

The Batcomputer must be malfunctioning. There was no way space could be distorted to such an extent without collapsing in on itself.

Of course there was room for error seeing that he was no expert in space-time distortions. Why would he? It had nothing to do with his war against crime. Criminals hadn't reached a stage where they could make use of such knowledge.

He was unprepared this time. This was a learning experience.

Taking off his cowl, Bruce Wayne glared at the vast composition of data and graphs in an attempt to see any overarching pattern that he might have missed the past twelve times.

"Any luck Master Bruce?" A sophisticated voice inquired.

Behind the seat Bruce was on, Alfred Pennyworth stood holding a folder filled with documents. Despite the event occurring only two hours prior, the two men had compiled several cabinets worth of observations, theories, and conclusions. They also had an even larger collection thrown into waste bins.

"Yes." The detective grunted after a long period of silence. "Something literally forced its way into existence in the Sonoran Desert at approximately 11:17 pm EDT. Cause of event is unknown but is most likely due to some external party. A party that is not part of the same dimension as us. Further investigation is required."

"I will prepare the radiation proof gear."

"That won't be necessary, I won't be going. I don't have the expertise to thoroughly investigate surface zero."

"What shall we do now?"

"I will brief Cyborg on the situation. His experience with Boom Tubes will allow him to have a deeper insight than I could. Once he completes his findings, he will join Green Arrow and I in hunting down any possible leads."

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**And scene.**

**After 3000+ words, Shirou has finally arrived in the DC universe. And quite to the annoyance to the Dark Knight at that. **

**How will Shirou take being banished from his home world? Will he continue down his path to becoming a hero (We all know he will)? **

**If any of you had any issues with how I handled the dimension hopping then I'm sorry to say that I tried something new and it blew up in my face. **

**I will try to release the next chapter soon. For now dear reader, I bid you adieu.**

**-SupaSayajin**


	2. 2nd Sword: Inter-Dimensional Traveler

**I'm back with a second chapter. The next two or three chapters are going to be Shirou getting on his feet and world building before we move on to any significant story arcs.**

**Before we start, I'm honestly surprised by how many people liked my story. Over a hundred in just three days... for just the first chapter. I'm honored you guys liked my idea so much. I'll be sure to give you guys good content.**

**So without further ado, I hereby give you the 2nd Sword.**

**Oh yeah, I don't own Fate/Stay Night or DC.**

* * *

**Sonoran Desert; Surface Zero**

**November 21, 11:30 pm EDT**

The first thing Shirou noticed when he finally regained consciousness was how deep the crater he was in dug into the ground. The second was how his body had sand practically everywhere.

Taking a deep breath, the magus tried to get on his knees only to have nausea sucker-punch him and elicit a good three minutes of gagging and vomiting.

If only he had thought to actually eat something before the battle, maybe he would puke out something other than blood and mystery black goo.

As if in response to his nausea, Shirou could feel Avalon begin to work on whatever the Grail did to him. However, the scabbard seemed to be working at a glacial pace as if it too was as tired as he was.

His Prana must be running low again.

Slowly sitting up, Shirou began a mental checklist on everything he possibly could.

His body felt strange. It looked the same, albeit a shade or two lighter, but the raw power and strength he had at the ready was mind-blowing. It was at a level far beyond what he had at max level Reinforcement. It was a shame that his sweater was so bloody and tattered, it was one of his favorites. If there was anything else new, he would need a mirror to actually see it.

His Prana reserves, on the other hand, had increased a hundredfold. Hell, he was sure had his reserves been full, he could have taken on Archer and Gilgamesh simultaneously and still have enough left over to Project Kanshou and Bakuya a hundred times.

Too bad he didn't have the necessary skills to do actually pull that off. Yet.

It was only after a particularly cold gust of wind did Shirou realize that he spent too long taking inventory. He had to find his way to a city or town to know where he was and to pick up some supplies.

Finally standing up, Shirou climbed his way out of the crater and tried to find any landmarks that could lead him to civilization.

"This can't be Japan. None of our deserts are this far away from sea... or even this big" Shirou thought out-loud.

The deserts of Japan barely even made it into the category. They were only a moderately sized concentration of sand dunes by the seaside. Nothing to write to Gaea about.

Reinforcing all his senses, Shirou caught sight of signs of light pollution. Obviously that meant there was a city in that direction but he could tell it was quite far away, about 100 km (62 miles) if he had to guess.

"No point in procrastinating, Avalon healed my body enough for this."

Crouching down, Shirou Reinforced his body before leaping high into the air in the direction of the mystery city.

* * *

**The Watchtower**

**November 21, 1:50 am EDT**

No matter how many times he saw it, space never ceased to amaze him with its sheer magnitude. Up here, it was as if all his pain and suffering was insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

However, he had a job to do. Batman had called in just moments ago requesting his insight on the strange events in the Sonoran Desert and it wasn't looking good. The only similarity this event had with boom tubes was that it transported someone from one place to another. Everything else just didn't make sense.

A boom tube function using an external device, a Mother Box, and act as a sort of speed lane between two points. The energy required can be taken in by the Mother Box which is then converted to suit the boom tubes' needs.

This wasn't anything like that, it was as if someone essentially blew up the fabric of space and time and forced its way there.

What was most concerning was that the energy used couldn't be identified. He had already cross-referenced it with every known energy signature that the Justice League had encountered and came up with nothing.

Zilch.

Nada.

Moving towards the Teleport Tubes, Cyborg called up Batman and Green Lantern to report his findings. Not even two minutes latter, the two heroes' arrivals was announced by a flash of white light and the intercom.

**"Recognized, Batman. 02."**

**"Recognized, Green Arrow. 08."**

"Cyborg, report." The masked billionaire demanded.

"It's just as you said, a complete unknown has come to Earth. We have to go to the scene to get more info."

"Uh guys, it's not like this isn't gonna be a repeat of the Darkseid incident... right?" The archer nervously joked.

Batman and Cyborg simply stared at Green Arrow.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Cyborg, any signs of fallout?"

"None whatsoever, we're free to waltz our way in."

"Good, we leave immediately."

* * *

The crater was freaking huuuge.

Sure he had seen bigger but still.

"Arrow, pay attention."

"Okay, okay Bats. What's up?'

"Use your eyes, who do you see standing at the edge of the crater?"

Squinting, the archer saw a tall, Caucasian man just standing there. He was dressed as if he was going to a high end dinner party, his dark hair had a large streak of white down the middle.

"Well I'll be damned, what's Jason Blood doing here?"

"Good to see you're finally paying attention. Cyborg and you will go talk with him while I investigate the crater.'

"Why don't you go talk to him?"

"Simple, I'm more qualified to investigate the crater."

With that, the Dark Knight slowly made his way down the crater.

Green Arrow looked to Cyborg who simply answered with a shrug.

"Alright then, let's hope he doesn't start rhyming."

The two heroes went to go talk with the ancient noble. Despite the cold, Green Arrow could have sworn he felt the air get warmer as they approached him.

"I suspect you're here because of this?" Jason Blood questioned.

"Yes, we are. So what did you find, magic?"

"Yes and no."

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Cyborg incredulously asked.

"I do not recognize this energy signature but I am certain that this power has no connection to the Source. It is truly one of a kind but not what I came here for."

"Oh, then why are you here exactly?" Green Arrow inquired.

"I sensed something that hadn't been seen since the time of King Arthur, a holy artifact that was lost to the ages. The gift the man who cursed me bestowed unto the King, Avalon."

"Well, that sounds really-"

"And yet, I sensed a great evil." The noble cut in. "One that disturbed the demon that dwelt within me. It was as if all the evil in the world was drawn into this crater."

"...Can I speak now?"

"If you wish."

"So can you tell if the unknown was hostile?"

"The presence of both holy and unholy energy keeps me from being confident in my answer."

"You could have just said no."

"I apologize if my sophisticated manner of answering your questions annoy you."

"I now know why Batman ordered me to ask you questions." Green Arrow muttered under his breath.

"Do you know which way it went?" Cyborg interjected.

"I can answer that."

Turning to the Gothamite, the three men waited for him to continue.

"There was blood at the bottom of the crater. The manner the blood was spread across the ground alongside an unidentified liquid shows that it was vomit, possible indicator of internal bleeding and head trauma." Batman said. "The person was injured but was strong enough to jump to extraordinary heights as indicated by two smaller craters. Thus we can conclude he's headed one place... Puerto Peñasco."

* * *

**Puerto Peñasco; Mexico**

**November 21, 2:01 am EDT**

His eye... His left eye was red!

And no, not because of crying or irritation from sand.

The eye color in his left eye went from its familiar bronze to the blood red of Gilgamesh.

Falling to the floor of the changing room he was in, his mind became overwhelmed by all the other changes to his body. His auburn hair was streaked with blonde, his skin lighter, and his musculature was more defined as if carved by a master sculptor.

On his left shoulder he could see the Tohsaka Crest, at least that remained. However it had a thin black line extending from the bottom that went on to his left shoulder blade. There he could see a mess of larger black line that crisscrossed, curved and cut over each other in seemingly random way. But he knew what they symbolized, what they stood for.

**Angra Mainyu.**

**All the World's Evil.**

The Grail had truly left its mark on him. His body had been corrupted, twisted, and built again by the Grail. To add insult to injury, he was dumped onto a desert in Mexico with nothing to his name and forced to loot a gift shop in a resort town to replace his bloody clothes.

In the end, he won't regret it though. He had done all he could to save humanity and succeeded. Even if he had to wake up in the morning and see Gilgamesh in this new eye of his, he would gladly do it again if it meant saving another person.

All he needed to do now was get back home.

Slapping his cheeks, the hero got to his feet and started looking for something to wear. It left a bad taste in his mouth but he had to since he had no money. The least he could do would be to take the cheapest clothes in stock.

And so he did, grabbing a disgustingly loud t-shirt with the words 'Playa soleada' on the front and a brown pair of short. Within seconds, Shirou had on his ensemble and was ready to leave the gift shop.

Leaving through the window he had entered through earlier (the owner was apparently dumb enough to leave it unlocked), the magus already started on his plan to get back to Fuyuki.

Step one: find the nearest airport.

Step two: wait, didn't he need documentation to get a flight?

Step three (actually one): find a way to get documentation.

Dammit, this was why Rin handled the planning! Just give him something to do with his hands and he could do it.

First things first, he had to find a place to spend the night. Luckily, the city had plenty of alleys to choose from.

* * *

"Cyborg, did you notice the boy?"

"The boy?"

The two men had both gained access of the Puerto Peñasco CCTV system through a combination of the vigilante's impressive gadgets and Cyborg's powerful software.

"Over at the east side of the city, by the Sunny Beach Gift Shop. A boy in bloody clothes disposed his sweater in the dumpster before breaking into the shop."

"So that is who I sensed in that direction..." Jason mused.

"Seriously?! You already knew where the unknown was and didn't think to tell us?!" Green Arrow exclaimed as he threw his arms up in the air.

The noble simply shrugged.

"Blood, tell me the basics." Batman requested.

"The boy is weakened," The noble observed. "Whatever happened in the crater almost killed him. It is a miracle that he made it to this city at all."

"So what's the plan Bats?"

The Dark Knight's visor narrowed in contemplation. The Justice League had no data on anything like what Cyborg and he had gathered. All he knew was that the subject was unfamiliar with this environment. The act of looting the gift shop showed that the subject was desperate and resource-less. A bad combination.

Should any of the League's enemies catch wind of what happened here, they would come in droves to investigate. They would hunt the boy down to experiment on, recruit, or even kill him. Hell, the enough of inter-dimensional travel could be enough reason for anyone to give chase.

So that left two options; detain the boy or recruit him first.

And he already knew which one he was going to choose.

"We will try to recruit him, the Team could use another member."

Despite his misgivings for accepting an unknown, he couldn't let a lost child stay that way. Robin and Batgirl definitely made him soft.

At least this way, the kid could do some good under League supervision.

"Are you sure Batman?" Jason asked. "I sense both great good and evil in the boy."

Turning to the immortal noble, Batman grunted before pulling out his grappling gun.

"Then we need to be sure that he's the good type. Wouldn't want him to be found by the enemy now, would we?"

With that said, Batman shot off into the night sky and left his companions behind.

* * *

**I know this wasn't as big as the first but it's that way for a reason. One that you'll see in the next chapter. I know a couple of you disliked the idea of Shirou joining the League and I actually agree. But it wouldn't make sense for him to just say 'no' without any real conflict. I want him to build relationships, both good and bad, before we kick off anything serious.**

**Also sorry for the wait, Physics class basically kept me from writing. The 3rd Sword will be out at some point by end of November or early December.**

**So see ya then.**

**-SupaSayajin**


	3. 3rd Sword: Demon Apostle

**Hey guys, I know it took a while... But you know how it is, school sucks and quality requires time and effort to pull off. **

**Also, I'm still shocked at how many of you liked the premise of this story. Despite this being my first time, a good number of you came forward to express their support and even gave me solid advice. You know who you are.**

**With that said, I give you the third installment of [What is Justice?].**

**I, unfortunately, do not own DC or Fate/Stay Night. I'm simply a humble fanfic writer.**

* * *

**Puerto Peñasco; Mexico**

**November 21, 2:45 am EDT**

The Moonlit World was filled to the brim with mysterious characters, extraordinary events, and outlandish terminology that never ceased to catch Shirou by surprise. From the Holy Grail Wars to black hole that was Saber's stomach, Shirou was sure that the world would keep throwing curve-balls at him in rapid succession. Rin made it perfectly clear that he had only seen the bare minimum of the world he was thrust into.

Hell, the old man made it even more clear that Shirou would be brutally murdered if he went in unprepared.

However, Shirou was sure that no amount of preparation could have possibly helped him here. Even Rin and Kiritsugu would have been struck dumb.

As Shirou stared up at the top of the gift shop from the alley he was in, he couldn't help but deadpan at the strangest ensemble of people he had ever seen. A dark brooding man in bat-like armor, a Robin Hood wannabe who had his bow aimed right at Shirou, and a literal cyborg.

Sure, nothing normal happens when someone has to go into an alley in the middle of the night but this shouldn't be in the realm of possibility. The cyborg outright trashes the possibility of this group being magi since the Moonlit World looks down on anything that has to do with science. Science was generally seen as a tool of regular humans and gets in the way of the ultimate goal: to reach the Root.

"Tell me, what's your name kid?" The archer calls out.

English, they were speaking in English. That definitely tells him enough about the land to know he was no longer in Japan. He must be in either Europe or North America. The desert and the city he was in should further narrow down to Western Europe or south of Canada.

This situation did not bode well for Shirou. He knew nothing about this group: their abilities, ideologies, and temperaments could potentially spell doom for him. The Holy Grail War taught Shirou that waltzing into an unknown could literally kill him and he wasn't keen on having that happen.

He had to stall them. At least until he can find a way to escape or beat them. Thank the Root he studied hard in his English classes.

"I don't see why I should tell you." Shirou calls back. "I know enough to not talk to strangers."

The archer seemed to have found the comment funny enough to laugh at but the man in the bat armor simply glared him into submission.

"Does a twenty foot wide crater in the middle of the desert give you enough reason to cooperate?" The cyborg asks rhetorically.

That probably would be enough reason but Shirou couldn't afford to be caught now. Not when he was so low on Prana, stamina, and lost in unfamiliar territory.

"Crater? I don't know anything about something like that. I'm just a homeless kid."

Too bad he was a horrible liar.

"Your accent tells me that you're not from around here, possibly from Japan if I'm not mistaken, your clothing is clearly stolen from the gift shop across the street, and the bloody clothes in the dumpster behind you suggests you had something extremely violent occur to you." The bat guy listed off. "We have been investigating the event for four hours and all the evidence leads to one person...you."

Dammit, the bat was good at his job.

So far Shirou's plan was horribly backfiring. He didn't expect to have people chase after him so soon after his arrival, especially considering he popped up in the middle of a desert. Next step should be to figure out how much they know about the Moonlit World.

Over the time he spent in the Holy Grail, one big part of the memory blasts was how he could have been associated with the Moonlit World and it stuck with him before it could have disappeared into the abyss of his subconscious.

After all, how could anyone forget how their adoptive father was a world renowned assassin?

"The name is Shirou Emiya." He acquiesced.

The three men simply accepted his answer, not even the slightest flinch was present.

Okay, they weren't magi. So who the Root were they?!

"Shirou Emiya, do you know where you are right now?" The bat guy asked.

"An alley."

Escape was the only option now, to actively fight people who have done nothing to him and have no connection to the Moonlit World would only key them into his capabilities and make him a target. Also, it just felt too similar to a Lancer move.

"You could just say you don't know." The archer interjected.

This time it was the cyborg that glared him down.

All of a sudden, a flash of red light appeared behind the strange group and with it came the scent of ash and brimstone.

* * *

**2:30 am**

**Right before confrontation**

On the roof of the gift shop that Shirou had already looted, the investigation team sans Jason Blood had their sights trained on the trans-dimensional traveler. Cyborg and Batman worked on building a file based on what they observed of the kid. His height, skin tone, possible ethnicity, age range, everything that they could possibly infer from his physical appearance as a whole.

"How do you guys want to approach him?" Cyborg questioned.

"Well, we don't want to spook the kid but we need to get him to answer our questions." Green Arrow answered, crouching down and pulling out his bow.

He would recognize the mistake he made at a later point in time.

"The goal of this encounter is to convince him that he needs our help." Batman urged as he turned to the group. "Arrow, call Jason Blood over."

Green Arrow hastily made a salute and went on to contact Jason Blood over the comlink. The two other League members continued to observe the kid, only to be interrupted by the emerald archer.

"Jason... Why would you do this to us?!" Green Arrow wallowed as he put his head in his arms.

"Mind sharing?" Cyborg asked as he crossed his arms.

"He went to investigate a 'pest that popped up,'" Green Arrow air quoted with a huff. "Jerk wouldn't even tell me what he meant!"

"That only means that we aren't the only ones who picked up the kid's trail."

"In that case, why don't we go ahead and introduce ourselves?"

* * *

'_Shit shit shit shit shit_.'

What was this scent? So corrupt and vile. Shirou's nose burned as the scent overwhelmed him.

It was too similar to the Grail, it carried with it the promise of suffering and corruption. Was his judgment of this group misguided?! Were they Magi all along?

The new arrival was ironically the most normal looking of the group, a posh looking man in a suit, but Shirou knew that he was the furthest from his image. What kind of taboo experimentation did he do to himself? How did his Prana become so horrible?!

"Boy, come along now. You are in grave danger of being discovered." The man urged.

Go along? With that... that **thing**?!

No way in hell!

Not even bothering to respond, Shirou quickly reinforced his legs before leaping away as fast as his tired body could. His heart pounded with adrenaline as he tried to organize his thoughts. What did that encounter tell him about the group?

Not much but he had some information. That thing had to be a Dead Apostle, his aura was very similar to how the few stories Shirou had heard would describe them. But what would a Dead Apostle want with him? He wasn't even sure he would taste that good considering he was made out of-

A mind breaking spike of pain interrupted his thoughts as Shirou failed to stick the landing. Scrambling back up to his feet, Shirou reinforced all his senses to check if he was being pursued. And sure enough, all four men were hot on his tail. He was simply too tired to make a successful getaway.

He had to fight his way out and he no longer felt the hesitance from earlier.

**[Trace On]**

Scanning the group with his improved Structural Grasping, Shirou tried to find any structural weaknesses and design flaws in the group's equipment. He may have had no idea what he was seeing but finding a fault in design had been a specialty of his since his debut as the Homurahara Brownie.

The cyborg's body was simply too foreign for him to recognize anything but he could tell that the guy was holding back, seeing that the man was not even using a quarter of the energy levels his body could produce. Shirou knew that he couldn't harm him given how tired he was, but he should be able to cause the man to lose focus. Maybe creating an unstable Projection would help.

The weirdo in the batsuit had definitely taken a lot of time making his costume. The material would be able to withstand a lot of physical damage, it might even be able to hold against a couple of his nameless Projections, provided Shirou doesn't rain down hell upon him. However, the suit has small, almost minuscule, chinks in his joints, abdomen and neck. The suit was likely designed with a lot of consideration for free movement. Smart, but now Shirou found his weak-points.

The archer was dressed much more simply, most likely to minimize any burdens to allow him to dodge and quickly make room to shoot with his bow. Speaking of which, his recurve bow was took up a good chunk of Shirou's attention since it was aimed right at him. While the archer was jumping across rooftops! Had regular humans always been that skillful?!

But then the Dead Apostle made himself known.

Shirou couldn't find anything on him. No weapons, armor, or even those jewels Rin would use. But that horrible stench became heavier with each step that monster took. He was sure that the Apostle was preparing some sort of ranged attack.

There was no time to think, Shirou gave himself to his instincts.

Thrusting out his right hand **[1]**, Shirou projected the first thing his gut came up with. The archer's bow. And right on time too.

Quickly copying the making of the projectile that was coming right at him, Shirou nocked his new arrow to the drawstring, inhaled deeply, and sent the arrow flying. Sure enough, the arrows ricochet off to the sides.

It would dawn on Shirou later that he had just traced and projected his first bow.

The enemy faltered but were quick to pursue Shirou. Without even communicating to each other, the group fanned out to try and surround Shirou. The bat seemed to blend into the shadows as he approached from the rooftops, like a wraith on a mission. The archer took position two rooftops away with his sights trained on Shirou. The cyborg took a much more straightforward approach, leaping onto the streets and cracking the pavement as he landed.

"Ah crap, tenth time this week!" He cried. Why? Shirou had no idea.

The Dead Apostle was what concerned Shirou, he just stood there on the rooftop to Shirou's right with his arms crossed. His eyes burned with unidentifiable emotion as he stared down upon Shirou, as though the Magus was about to do something extraordinary.

Root help him, Shirou barely had the Prana to project the bow he held now.

The cyborg bounded towards him, arms reaching out to the sides as to prevent Shirou from dodging to the side. His form was actually recognizable. Shirou had seen something similar when kids in his neighborhood would make fun of American football by mocking their play style.

If he can't get away or dodge to the sides, there was only one option. Charging forward, Shirou projected another arrow and moved to nock it. The cyborg noticed and brought his upper body further down as he picked up speed. As the two barreled towards each other, the bat's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"Cyborg! He's going to ju-"

By the time the cyborg registered that, it was too late. Shirou had already jumped on his back with conservative use of Reinforcement and used him as a spring board to propel himself into the air. Twisting in a corkscrew flip, arrow already nocked, Shirou aimed at the Dead Apostle deeming him to be the biggest threat.

* * *

That kid just stole his moves!

Green Arrow may not have been the most powerful hero nor was he the most observant but he had spent years, decades perfecting his fighting style. He had shed sweat, tears, and blood to become the archer he was today. After he had been rescued from that damned island and discovered his natural proficiency at archery, he spent every hour when he wasn't Oliver Queen honing his skills as the Green Arrow.

Seeing the kid conjure up a perfect replica of his bow was shocking enough and after he had taken his first shot, Oliver wasn't really worried. His style was simply not fit for the bow he was using, after all the Kyūdō was more ceremonial nowadays than it was a combat style since you needed to stay rooted to one spot.

But then something in the boy shifted. As Cyborg charged towards him, the kid's stance changed into a bastardized version of his own. Sure his footing wasn't right and he was too stiff to make full use of his shoulders, but it was a drastic improvement from just seconds earlier. Oliver could tell that Batman recognized the stance as well, the detective was always quick on the uptake.

It was when the kid got past Cyborg that Green Arrow was sure that the kid somehow copied his style. That maneuver with the corkscrew flip took him weeks to perfect with diligent training and a controlled environment. To see an upstart with little experience in the style do it so well in the first attempt hurt his pride.

Quicker than lightning, Oliver saw Batman throw out a couple of batarangs to intercept the kid's arrow and succeeded in making the arrow miss Jason Blood.

Not letting the shock get to him, the Emerald Archer took advantage of his target's vulnerable position in the air by shooting a tranquilizer arrow to bring him down.

* * *

This was it. He was unable to take out the Dead Apostle and had officially run out of Prana.

He had hoped that this last stand would be at least be fruitful in that regard.

His ears picked up the sound of an arrow cutting its way through the air towards him. Too tired and empty, all he could do was grunt in pain as that arrow buried itself into his shoulder.

His body painfully crashed into the ground and air rushed out of his lungs. As he looked up into the night sky, he wondered whether he would see home again.

Off to the side, he could see the bat guy land a couple of feet away from him and crouch down to pick something up. An arrow, apparently the first one he traced.

Outside his line of sight, Shirou could hear powerful thuds of metal against cement, '_The cyborg.'_, but was too exhausted to turn his head to check.

"You're a spry little guy, ain't ya." The cyborg harrumphed. "Don't worry, we're the good guys."

Good...guys. The exhaustion was getting too much for him. His...head was getting dizzy.

_**Squelch **_

"Hngh!"

A sudden tug removes the arrow embedded in his shoulder, there in his hand he could see an arrow with a thin, short head. It was clearly designed only to puncture through the skin and nothing else. Bastard... archer must have tranquilized him.

"Shit."

With that final word, Shirou slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Greeting my lovely readers, sorry for the long wait but I simply wasn't satisfied with this chapter. Even now I feel an urge to check for errors. But I can't keep you guys hanging any longer. Now Shirou has officially made contact with the DC universe. You won't believe how often I had to edit this.**

** So here's the third chapter, hope you liked it.**

**[1] I decided to add a little guessing game to see who would get why I was being so specific, just a little something for the Fate/Stay Night stans and archery buffs. Correct answers get a nod of respect from me.**

**Until we meet again**

**~SupaSayajin**


	4. 4th Sword: A Deal is Made

**I'm incredibly grateful that so many of you liked my story, now that I have integrated Shirou into the DC universe as best as I could, the plot will thicken. I'm also pretty amazed by this many reviews on my work, I've read them all and have taken steps to address some of the flaws you readers have pointed out.**

**I remember someone asked me if the geography I'm using is correct, the answer is yes. **

**I'm gonna stop putting in disclaimers. There are only so many possible iterations I can use before it gets stale.**

* * *

**Hall of Justice; Med Bay**

**November 22, 11:46 am**

Batman wasn't a stranger to having unforeseen twists and turns flip his day upside down. Psychotic mass murderers, otherworldly threats, and high stake missions had become predictable and repetitive so he had enough experience to believe that little could surprise him.

Whatever this Shirou kid was, he had gifted the Dark Knight such a conundrum that he had no idea how to even approach it. Inter-dimensional travel, unknown reality altering abilities, and a new branch of magic (as described by Jason Blood) all rolled into one unholy mess of questions. Batman needed to know exactly what the kid could do, and the only thing he could do was wait for him to regain consciousness.

That's not to say he hadn't been trying to find out as much as he could beforehand.

Batman and Cyborg had attempted to analyse the structure of the bow and arrows that they had collected from the scene up in the Watchtower and all of their findings came up inconclusive.

The boy had flawlessly copied and created Green Arrow's bow, every curve, etch, scratch, and measurement was recreated exactly. The arrows were indistinguishable from those in the emerald archer's quiver.

Green Arrow had tested them in The Kitchen (Hall of Justice training room) and swore up and down that they were identical to his own but the material was made of something they had never seen before. They had the same characteristics of the metal used with one exception. They were not magnetic.

The arrows had no atoms, no electrons. By all accounts they didn't even exist, none of the scanners even registered their presence.

Jason Blood had run off before Batman had any chance to grill the man for answers, which served to infuriate the detective. There was nothing more frustrating than trying to solve a case with an uncooperative witness.

Batman would have already started interrogating Shirou, if he had regained consciousness that is.

They had originally placed him in a re-purposed meeting room, due to concern about bringing an unknown up to the Watchtower, and realized that he wouldn't wake after waiting for four hours. The dosage shouldn't have kept someone under influence for much longer than three hours and they made several attempts to wake him up to no avail.

Quickly transferring Shirou to the medical center in the Hall of Justice, Batman began numerous scans to determine what kept him unconscious. There were no traces of the tranquilizer left in his body, no allergic reactions could be detected, and there was no head trauma. The only thing Batman could find was that his brain activity was abnormally low, as if he had gone into a coma.

There was no telling when Shirou would wake up again and Batman wasn't one to leave something like this up to chance. That left him to his last resort. Taking out his com-link, Batman contacted the League's leading expert on brain activity.

"J'onn, get to the Hall Med Bay."

* * *

**Location Unknown**

**Time ****Unknown**

There was a bright golden light in the sea of darkness that surrounded Shirou.

When did he wake up, how did he get here, **where is here?! **Was he even awake at all?!

Were those strange people keeping him captive? Is this some sort of perverse experiment? Or is it a twisted game where they sadistically give their captives hope before cruelly crushing them?

He had nothing now. He couldn't feel his Prana reserves, his Structural Grasping was MIA, and his senses were dulled. If the enemy were hiding in the shadows, he would never sense them coming, he would be unable to defend himself, and he would lose any chance of escaping.

On the bright side, he wasn't tired anymore.

Regardless, the only way anything will change is if he went towards that light.

Shirou sighed as he began his journey. Each step he took echoed, each breath sounded like a loud gust of wind, he could even hear every individual rustle of his shirt. This place was empty, overbearingly so.

Occasionally, Shirou would catch sounds echoing back to him. A murmur, a clanging of metal, the crackling of fire.

The light was getting closer, and with it Shirou felt heat rush over him. It was only then that Shirou realized just how unnaturally cold he was.

'_This darkness...'_ Shirou noted as he glanced around. '_It's sapping my body heat?!'_

Speeding up, Shirou made it a mission to reach the light. There was something about the darkness that deeply unsettled him.

Reaching the edge of what he could now identify was torchlight, Shirou came to a dead stop and snarled.

He was undoubtedly, irrevocably, unfathomably enraged at what he was witnessing. As he marched across the barrier between the dark void and the light, Shirou resolutely glared at the first thing that he had seen in Root knows how long.

In the center of the circle of torchlight, mounds of treasure reflected the light that surrounded them. A large elevated golden throne was situated on top of the largest mound in the center, behind it a large (also golden) gilded gate covered in black chains towered over the scene, and upon it a man as golden as the throne he sat on. Golden armor, golden hair, golden torches, golden **golden _golden_**. Shirou's jaw clenched in disgust as he gazed upon the personification of hubris. The man, who had already seen Shirou coming, rested his head on his closed fist as he glared down at the approaching magus with fury.

Gilgamesh, for who else could it be, stood up and pointed his arm at Shirou. Right after he did so, the gates behind him struggled and strained to open but the chains held fast and prevented that from happening. The King of Heroes raged at the prospect of not being able to kill the one who trapped him, who humiliated him. Tightening his hands to a fist, Gilgamesh turned his head up and let out a bellow of anger and frustration.

"AAAARRRGGHHHH!"

Struck dumb at the sight of Gilgamesh throwing what was essentially a tantrum, Shirou stared in confused disgust. Had this monster not caused so much pain and grief over the past two Grail Wars, Shirou might have even felt a kernel of pity for the Servant. However, that was **never **happening.

"NO, I CAN'T REMAIN HERE! I REFUSE IT, I REFUSE TO STAY IN THIS PUTRID MONGREL!"

"How are you still here?! You were the first to go in the Grail!" Shirou exclaimed after finally recovering from his shock.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Gilgamesh raved as he stomped down from his throne. Reaching Shirou, the demigod attempted to strangle him but Shirou jumped back to avoid it. Gilgamesh immediately chased after him and made to tackle him, only to phase right through him and barely stay on his feet.

This was too much, seeing the Gilgamesh so undignified and lost made Shirou break out in laughter. Gilgamesh, realizing that nothing could be done to kill/mutilate the third rate, recollected himself and decided to glare heatedly at Shirou.

Once the laughing session was complete, Shirou grimly made the decision to find out how and why Gilgamesh was here. Where here was and how Shirou himself ended up here. But the proud Servant would never willingly give that kind of information so Shirou needed more... indirect means.

"You know, I always thought your treasury would be more, what's the word?" Shirou began while pretending to be thoughtful. He walked to a smaller mound of treasure and picked up a golden coin. "Impressive. Yeah, that's it." He finished and tossed the coin back.

Gilgamesh's jaw clenched. His already closed fist tightened enough to dent his gauntlets.

_'My treasury, sullied by the hands of an upstart peasant. Unforgivable.'_

"But what else could be expected from someone who lost to a faker?" Shirou chuckled. "Not even a single weapon in sight, afraid you might give me something to add to my own arsenal?"

"This isn't my true treasury, do you truly think that I fear you?! That you're a threat to me?!" Gilgamesh indignantly retorted.

"I know that I beat you, that's all that matters." Shirou calmly answers with a smirk.

"FOOLISHNESS! You may control the body for now but I will find a way to gain full control!"

"You have that kind of ability?!"

"It's my body as well! As if I would let a disgusting mortal such as yourself to commandeer my body, my abilities! I WOULD RATHER DIE!"

"THEN JUST DISAPPEAR! I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY BODY EITHER!"

"And let you have access to **my **treasury?! I would sooner take you down with me." Gilgamesh said before climbing back up to his throne.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing?!"

Sitting down, the King of Heroes appeared to have completely gotten his anger under control. His face became passive as he lounged on his throne.

"I have grown weary of your squabbles. I'll simply have to do better the next chance I get."

"When did you ever get the first one?"

Smirking, the demigod took the time to begin his gloating.

"The botched fusion process may have taken away my access to my Noble Phantasm and it has frustratingly prevented me from outright killing you to take the reins from you. But no matter how minuscule my influence may be, there is still a part of me in this wretched form." Pointing a finger to the air, he gave a haughty laugh.

He swiftly brought the finger down to point at Shirou after finishing his laugh.

"Just the fact that we are both here proves that we have not completely fused. There are cracks and chinks that I can exploit, letting me dissociate aspects of myself from you. Tell me, do you know why that final arrow pierced you?"

Saying this, Gilgamesh's eyes gleamed dangerously and his smirk widened into a full blown smile. Shirou's eyes widened in sudden realization as he finished contemplating what he just heard.

He knew that his body had improved in leaps and bounds, to the level that he would associate with Servants. It was common knowledge that Servants are invulnerable to conventional weaponry, only Magecraft could produce a weapon that could harm them. Shirou already deduced that his body had been made to incorporate traits of a Servant, namely Gilgamesh.

So he shouldn't have been taken out by that arrow, unless the bastard in front of him did something to him.

"You did something to my body. I thought it may have been due to lack of Prana but your smug face says otherwise."

"No, what I did is simply take advantage of our unfinished fusion." Gilgamesh frowned, disgruntled at the implication that the faker would lay claim to his abilities. "Albeit temporarily, I was able to widen the divide in our physical attributes and separate myself from you."

"That's what left me vulnerable? All you had to do was cut the bind between us and I'm me again?!" Shirou exclaimed. Hoping his next question would give him the answer he desperately needed to hear, he looked Gilgamesh in the eyes and raised his voice.

"Can you make it permanent?"

Gilgamesh frowned even deeper.

"Are you daft, mongrel? I already said you wrested control away from me. I'm the prisoner here!"

"Then find a way!"

"You DARE to attempt ordering me?!"

At the end of the heated exchange, the darkness that they had been ignoring for so long began to press down on them. Shadow tendrils encroached into the light before fading away, only to be followed by others. Shirou was sure that he could see figures in the darkness reach out for them, as if desperate to snatch him away to never be seen again.

Gilgamesh actually seemed to be just as shocked as Shirou was, his body rigid in alarm as he stared into the dark void.

_'This shouldn't be happening, the torches should have kept him from acting out.' _The king thought in panic. '_The mongrel and I have done nothing to cause this, so why? Why would he be so erratic already?'_

In a span of a couple of seconds, Gilgamesh came to one possible conclusion. There was an unwelcome guest that needed to be disposed of. But how? Gilgamesh was unable to interact with anything outside of his treasury and all his weapons were locked away. Leaving the intruder to **him **would only further entice that abomination to be more aggressive, something that Gilgamesh wanted to avoid with zeal.

While Gilgamesh pondered, Shirou began to feel a pulling sensation overwhelm him. There was something he couldn't see or hear that clearly wanted him but it was being held back. Despite not knowing its intentions, Shirou knew it was a way out. One he wouldn't let go to waste.

He was well known for charging into the known after all, and there was no Rin or Saber to stop him this time.

Throwing his hand out, Gilgamesh's face twisted into one of intense focus and determination. The torches flared and the flames grew into an intense tower of heat and light, temporarily halting the advance of the darkness.

Apparently that was all that was needed to yank Shirou out of the void. With the world fading into white, Shirou let the pull take him away.

* * *

This was much more difficult than he expected it to be.

Before the bedridden Shirou, a towering figure donning a blue cape and incredibly green skin placed his hands on the boy's temple and his face turned into one of incredulous disbelief. One that did not fit his clearly alien face.

He had never come across a mind like this, one that was so broken, twisted, and, most importantly, unique to such an extent. Each time he felt the semblance of something, it would either sink or fade away from his mental grasp. In an effort to not break the boy's mind, he made sure to only make careful tugs and pulls whenever he came across something.

And that was the way it was for the past hour, an hour that led to new discoveries for the Martian Manhunter and frustration for Batman. J'onn J'onzz was fascinated by the framework of the mind he was gently probing and the flashes of memories he encountered along the way.

It was clear that Shirou was from another world, a world that had its own miracles and heroes. He hadn't come with the goal of seeing his memories, but his random tugs and pulls led to him accidentally witnessing some of Shirou's memories. The boy had his share of battles and struggles, most were a jumble but two stuck out to him.

The battle with a herculean beast and the death-match with a disenchanted hero. The boy was outmatched in both but he still ran in with the intent to save someone, no matter the cost. To prove that his dream to become a hero was NOT WRONG!

J'onn was struck dumb by Shirou's simple goal of saving everyone, a sentiment the he himself had always struggled to maintain. What could have motivated him to be so selfless? Dreams such as these were not those that people can gain without death being involved. Whose death drove him over the edge?

Out of respect for the boy, the martian chose not to search for that memory. The League had countless breaches due to physic attacks and it was not something he would impose on anyone without just cause.

A glaring issue he had though was that he couldn't properly associate all the memories he witnessed to the boy in front of him. There was a strange dissonance between the memories and Shirou that he couldn't figure out. There were a couple of scenarios that clearly involved Shirou, such as the one where his arm is cut off while defending a little girl but J'onn simply could not attach that memory to Shirou. Hell, he couldn't even see how it was reattached.

He had only seen similar dissonances in cases where false memories were implanted, but there was always a tell there. A missing sensation or out of character behavior was enough to tip the scales. But there was no such thing here. These memories were **lived**, Shirou had lost that arm and yet J'onn couldn't confidently say he did.

It was so disorienting to the martian that he was forced to stall the process to be certain that he wouldn't make any further mistakes, he had a goal to fulfill and that was to wake Shirou up.

Diving back in, he was finally able to grab hold of something. A light that had to be Shirou shone in turbulent darkness. Each tug he tried felt like he was pulling an anchor through a thick sludge, there was some sort of resistance that bogged down the light he held onto.

Not wanting to lose the connection, the psychic patiently continued to tug and pry the light away from the void. That was his strength after all, the ability to patiently wage physic battles of attrition and skill. There was no one in the Justice League who could quite rival the martian in his battleground.

It went without saying that his patience was rewarded, an unforeseen flash of light made the hold of the void loosen on the target and J'onn was ready to swiftly pull it out.

With his goal accomplished, Martian Manhunter left Shirou's mind and stepped away from the hospital bed.

"You were in there longer than I expected, any insight on the problem?" The Dark Knight spoke up.

"His mind... it is much more layered than someone with no psychic abilities ought to have." The martian answered before turning to Batman. "Not that's much of an exception, considering one such case stands before me."

Batman simply grunts as he steps forward to stand next to Martian Manhunter. He stares down at Shirou and grunts once again.

"He will wake up soon-" **_Groan._ **"Never mind, he's awake right now."

Sure enough, Shirou's eyelids blearily opened to reveal his heterochromatic eyes and slowly sits up in his bed. Batman inched forward, intent on gaining control of the situation, but Martian Manhunter motioned with his hand to keep his distance. Batman's visor slightly widened but he made no further moves.

"You saw something, didn't you?" Batman observed. "Enough to give this kid a chance."

Martian Manhunter nods and then taps the side of his temple, giving the detective a soft smile.

It was at that moment a loud _**thud **_signaled Shirou's full recovery. The poor magus had been sent sprawling on the ground in his haste to get up from the bed.

"Where am I? How did I get here?! Who are you people?!" Shirou speedily questioned as he got to his feet. He pointed to the martian. "What the hell are you?!"

Batman recognized that the boy was getting into a stance, his feet set apart with his left arm aimed at Martian Manhunter. The boy's left hand grabbed his right shoulder as if to brace for recoil.

'_Is he preparing some sort of energy blast? Perhaps some kind of incantation? Is this a prerequisite for his conjuring ability or is it just for show?_'

He detested how unpredictable magic was, so close to science and yet completely ignorant of the many rules that governed nature. And with the many overlapping and evergrowing branches of magic he came across, he had to keep coming up with more and more contingency plans.

As if there wasn't enough on his plate already!

Almost like he sensed his partner's internal frustration, Martian Manhunter attempts to placate the boy by giving him a blank stare and answering.

"A martian."

Shirou, baffled by such an answer, actually lowered his arm.

"What did you say? I could have sworn you said you were a martian."

"You heard me right, I am what you humans call martian."

Now completely confused, Shirou stares at this tall, green thing and actually tries to reason with it. After all, when did aliens become a thing in the Moonlit World?

"Did your master tell you that? I know Magi are known to be eccentric but no one is that far gone."

"Apologies Shirou Emiya, but I am actually from the planet Mars."

"But that's impossible, there's been no sentient life found there."

"That's probably the case in your universe, our universe is a completely different matter."

.

.

.

"Eh?"

* * *

Falling off that bed probably caused more damage than he expected. How else could he explain the green guy in front of him?

Preparing for battle once he got to his feet, he kept his eye on the new threat alongside the weirdo in the batsuit. He couldn't sense any other presence in the room they were in but he wasn't willing to be fooled by that. That Dead Apostle took him by surprise once using that teleportation of his. Sadly Shirou was unable to determine what kind of Magic it was, he regretted not looking into True Magic.

Information gathering never came naturally to him. That will most likely lead to his downfall.

"What the hell are you?!" He incredulously asked.

The thing's face hadn't changed in the slightest since he woke up. In fact, he expected it to completely ignore his answer so he was surprised when it spoke.

"A martian."

And that was when everything sunk into crazytown.

Not only did aliens exist but when the self proclaimed martian told him that this was a different universe...Shirou could actually begin to see how this was not his world anymore. In the back of his mind, he could no longer sense the barrier that was Gaia. The bow and arrows that he Projected earlier required less Prana than he had expected. The World seemed to no longer resist Magecraft, as if the Age of Gods had returned.

But how could that be? Did his desperate attempt to escape the Grail truly backfire this much?

"If you would like, I can give you a map to verify what I said." The martian offered.

Shirou could simply nod, too engrossed in his thoughts to voice anything. He missed the look the alien gave the Batguy, as if to warn him to play nice, before he left to grab a map.

"You gave us quite the chase." The man stated. "Why would you run like that?"

Shirou shuddered when he recalled that Dead Apostle, that sickening scent that burned and practically screamed danger. Was it even a Dead Apostle? If what that alien said was true, then Shirou would have to rethink his approach to the supernatural.

"I thought one of your friends was a monster." He answered. "That man in the suit... What is he?"

"He is human." The man said after a long pause. "A good man trapped by a horrible curse. One that has aided the Justice League on numerous occasions."

Shirou's eyebrow shot up in interest after those last few words.

"What does this Justice League do?"

The man simply grunts before answering.

"What do you think? We protect those who can't protect themselves."

* * *

J'onn J'onzz was a person who found it difficult not to help people, especially when those people were clearly selfless beings who deserved it. Upon coming to this world, he became a detective to solve whatever issues the citizens of the world had whenever he wasn't in his superhero persona. He fully adopted this world and its people as his own, even when they chose to hate him for his alien heritage.

He truly believed in the good that humanity was capable of. He had seen it in action and it never ceased to give him hope for a brighter tomorrow.

That boy in the med bay... J'onn had only seen such devotion in people like Batman or the Flash. Men who would lay down their lives for ordinary strangers, who fought tooth and nail for justice, who always got back up to save others.

And that world he was from, so rife with danger and fantastical events. Is it possible that any threats from his world could have also made the trip?

Either way, he won't let a boy like that fend for himself in this world. Too many factions and individuals would seek to take advantage of him. For now, he had to convince the boy that he had truly pioneered inter-dimensional travel.

Once you think you've heard it all, something even more ludicrous rears its head.

Hopefully, Batman had made use of his time alone with Shirou. J'onn was sure that the detective couldn't help fishing for answers. Maybe he had already mentioned the Justice League to see if the boy would recognize the name.

Knowing him, he most likely did.

Grabbing a holoprojector from the Main Conference room, he downloaded a map of the world. He wanted to use it to show the difference in technological advancements between their worlds to further solidify his argument.

He had what he needed, now to quickly make his way back to the Med Bay.

'_Hopefully, Batman hasn't rushed into anything.'_

He made it to the entrance of the Med bay when he overheard part of their conversation.

"So you're telling me there's an international team of costumed heroes who save the world from domestic, extraterrestrial, and supernatural threats?"

"For the tenth time, yes!"

Looks like he made it just in time, Batman sounded like he was ready to throw the kid out a window.

"Shirou Emiya, you might want to take a seat."

* * *

This is much more serious than a possible concussion, it's a full blown nightmare. It sounded too much like those super sentai shows Fuji-Nee would force him to watch with her whenever she would babysit him.

That was when he was younger, of course... Cross his heart and hope to die.

A world like this was something that belonged only in manga, even if it was the world of heroes he so desperately wished for in the past.

When the green guy came back with a strange palm sized circle, Shirou was curious to see what he had planned. He wasn't disappointed.

The Big Green (He hadn't told Shirou what to call him so Shirou gave him a title) tapped the screen and a large blue hologram sprung into existence in front of him. Shirou hadn't seen anything like it, there was no tech like this back in Fuyuki City.

"Tell me, do you see your home?"

Shirou looked at where Fuyuki City should be but couldn't find it. He motioned for Big Green to zoom in the Ōita prefecture and it still wasn't there!

Even with that city being a hot spot for supernatural wars and skirmishes, it should still be on the map.

'_What the hell?! Is this thing broken?'_

Reaching out for the circle, Shirou wordlessly asked Big Green to hand it to him. Big Green understood what he wanted and gave it to him.

Shirou then used his Structural Grasping to search for any internal issues. It had to be, how else could it miss Fuyuki City?! The city wasn't the largest but if Taketa made it on the map then its neighbor should be as well!

The internal working of this device were much more complicated than anything he had come across during his time as the Homurahara's Brownie. The closest he's gotten to something like this was when the projector in the Cinema Club broke down but that was light years away from this. He was going in blind, now completely dependent on his Magecraft to identify any issues.

The familiar lines of blue energy outlined the entirety of the devices interior, without coming across any interference, dead ends or damage. It was in perfect condition.

Does that mean Fuyuki City didn't exist?

As much as Shirou hoped this was some bizarre trick on Big Green's part, he couldn't see why he would do that. Shirou had nothing to offer them. No tomes or research, no Magic Crests, not even information.

He could make a good research subject but then they would have kept him restrained. Why bother giving a prisoner a map?!

Looking for his present his present location, Shirou fumble with the hologram until the Batguy huffed with impatience and did it for him. Shirou couldn't keep his disbelief in check.

Apparently, he was in the Hall of Justice in Washington D.C. The Grail spat him out on the other side of the world!

No... If what all the evidence is true, then it spat him out in a different Earth. One where there is a city named Metropolis.

Shirou didn't know if that was due to lack of creativity, blunt honesty, or too much pride.

"I can't find my home. My city isn't even on the map!"

"Maybe if you would tell us the name of the city, we could help." Batguy stressed.

"It's Fuyuki City. Should be in the Ōita Prefecture."

Not even bothering to search for it, the Batguy seemed to already have an answer.

"There is no city with that name. Never has been."

Shirou knew he wouldn't hear the answer he wanted to hear but he had hoped he would be wrong. How was he going to get back now? He can't return the way he came since he broke out of the Grail. Crashing back to the floor, he realized that he might never be able to return.

He might never experience those troublesome moments with Fuji-Nee again.

He might never make breakfast with Sakura again.

He might never see Rin and Saber again.

_He still needs to stop Julian._

A sharp jolt of pain hits Shirou's head, almost causing him to yell in agony. But just as quickly as it comes, it disappears.

'_Where do these thoughts come from? What did the Grail do to me?!'_

"Do not lose hope Shirou Emiya." A voice calls, interrupting Shirou's train of thought.

Shirou looked up to see Big Green gazing down on him in what looked like...empathy? After Shirou had attacked his friends and could offer nothing in return for aid, he didn't expect this guy to be so concerned about him.

"We will find a way to help you return to your world. Otherwise I can't call myself a hero."

The Batguy didn't seem to appreciate what Big Green was promising and was quick to make it clear.

"But we expect you to follow our instructions without question. If your world doesn't have an equivalent of the Justice League, then that means you aren't aware of how dangerous this world can be."

Shirou got back up to his feet and tried to think of what to say. This way, he could get resources and aid in his search for a way home. These people were able to pinpoint his arrival in this world, surely they can find a way to get him home.

'_I just have to play it smart, what would Rin do?'_

She would most likely gather information, collect resources, and make way to what equivalent there is to the Mage's Association so that she can search for a way home. If these people were willing to even provide some form of pay, it's better than begging on the street.

"Thank you, please take care of me." Shirou said, bowing his head.

Batguy almost choked.

* * *

**Location Unknown**

**Time ****Unknown**

Five years. Five long, hard years.

He had waited for so long to finally reach this level. Training, plotting, gathering resources and allies, all for the opportunity to get revenge.

The agony of his death, the hell that was his resurrection, the pain he felt when he found that he was replaced. Forgotten. He will finally be able to crush that man and show him just how much he hurt him.

The figure got up from his seat in the dark room he was in, illuminated only by the moonlight that crept in through the lone window. He was familiar enough with the dark to properly navigate his way through.

His hands were occupied with the thin object in his hand, obsessively cleaning it as if it could provide a sufficient distraction.

"Now, my death will no longer be meaningless."

Without warning, the figure threw the object in his hands at the wall. The object cut through the air with a resounding _shwish _before it stabbed into the wall across him.

There on the wall, two pictures were put on display with one having been stabbed through by what looked to be a military grade dagger. The one to the left was a low quality cut out of a newspaper article, featuring a powerfully built man in a dark suit of armor and a cape.

The one to the right, the one that was hit by the dagger, was the mugshot of a phsycohtic pale man with a freakishly wide smile.

* * *

**Hey hey hey, the prodigal author returns. And with a longer chapter too.**

**A good number of you have advised that I avoid putting Shirou in the League, and honestly I agree with each and every one of you on why Shirou wouldn't fit in the group. But I still want him to have a legitimate reason to not be with the League. I want him to build relationships with the members before he inevitably leaves.**

**The most interesting aspect of Shirou (to me at least) is how he fights for his philosophy. Especially with those who know him closely, like Archer or Rin. So those of you who said he shouldn't be in the League, he won't be a member for long so be patient with me.**

**See ya next time **

**~SupaSayajin **


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